


I Don't Care

by literally_no_idea



Series: Decking Howard [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 19:49:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18372896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literally_no_idea/pseuds/literally_no_idea
Summary: As Tony’s bodyguard, Happy sees Tony at both his best and his worst. He’s there when Tony’s giving presentations in front of thousands of science and technology experts from around the world, he’s there when Tony’s drunk at parties and trying to hook up with every man, woman, and nonbinary person within a 100 foot radius, and he’s there when Tony’s in the car on the way home from events where his father is mentioned a lot, when Tony has to pull over to the side of the road because he’s hyperventilating and crying so bad that he can’t drive properly. He’s been there for Tony through just about everything.--title from the Fall Out Boy song of the same name





	I Don't Care

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to the series, or if you're new here, welcome! This is a series of stand alone stories, so you don't need to read the others to understand this one. Enjoy!

As Tony’s bodyguard, Happy sees Tony at both his best and his worst. He’s there when Tony’s giving presentations in front of thousands of science and technology experts from around the world, he’s there when Tony’s drunk at parties and trying to hook up with every man, woman, and nonbinary person within a 100 foot radius, and he’s there when Tony’s in the car on the way home from events where his father is mentioned a lot, when Tony has to pull over to the side of the road because he’s hyperventilating and crying so bad that he can’t drive properly. He’s been there for Tony through just about everything.

 

Coming face to face with Howard Stark himself reminds Happy of three instances in particular.

 

* * *

 

The first memory is the first time Happy had watched someone try to hand Tony a stack of papers on the way out of an event, and Tony had asked Happy to take it for him. Happy had, confused, and when they’d gotten back into the car, Tony had asked him if he could shake the papers out first, flip through them real fast before giving them to Tony.

 

Happy had done as Tony had asked, and then Tony had taken the papers, skimming through them and lighting up with excitement when he read some of the proposals in the documents. When he saw the look on Happy’s face, however, he’d stopped to explain.

 

“I don’t like being handed things. They could be sharp, or hot, or cold enough to leave burns, and I’ve already done that enough times to learn from my mistakes.” Tony holds his hands out, palms up, towards Happy. His palms are a patchwork of scars, a mix of burns and poorly healed cuts, and Happy wants to scream, because who would do that to a child? Because Tony’s only 19 years old at this point, so how could this have happened?

 

Tony must see the question in Happy’s eyes, because he pulls his hands back, grips the steering wheel a little too tightly. “I used to help my dad in the workshop. I liked doing it, but my dad was always busy, working on the next big thing, and sometimes he’d hold out things for me to take. Welding torches, dry ice, exacto knives, you know? I took them because I was supposed to. Because I had to earn my keep to stay in the workshop. And if my dad handed them to me dangerous end first, well, that was just the price I paid to be there.”

 

Tony’s casual attitude about the whole thing terrifies Happy, but he just nods, and Tony starts the car and then they’re driving back to Tony’s place.

 

The second memory is of Tony after Afghanistan. He’s bruised and bloody and banged up, but he refuses to go to the hospital, immediately asks to get a burger and do a press conference. Happy wants to argue, but Pepper beats him to it, and Tony just repeats his goals, so Happy stops by a Burger King and gets them to the location Pepper sets up.

 

Tony announces that the company will no longer be selling weapons, and the place goes into an uproar. Obadiah pushes Tony off the stage, and Happy sits in the passenger seat as Tony drives home. “Are you okay, boss?” he asks, when Tony doesn’t get out of the car for the first five minutes after they’ve parked. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”

 

Tony shakes his head, looking a little dazed. “No, no it’s not that. I’ve just… I saw my weapons used to kill good people, innocent people. There was a man who helped me, Yinsen, and I just… I met him, once before, years ago. He is—  _ was _ a good man. I watched terrorists kill him after he saved my life. I owe him everything. I can’t keep making weapons after that. But I’m ruining my father’s legacy. I’m exactly what my father didn’t want me to be, a weak, spineless idiot that refuses to make weapons.”

 

Happy waits to see if Tony is going to say anything else, but he doesn’t, so Happy speaks. “Look, boss, I’ve seen you do a lot of things. Great things, terrible things, brilliant things, some of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen anyone on this planet do. But you’re a good person, and taking a stand when you have a good reason to? That’s strength and bravery. There’s nothing weak or stupid about that.”

 

Tony laughs. “Yeah, maybe not. I don’t know. Thanks for the drive.”

 

Happy wants to point out that Tony was the one who drove, but he doesn’t, he just lets Tony get  out of the car and head up to his room, and Happy gets out of the car, walks around to the driver’s seat, and goes home.

 

The third memory is of Tony after he created the arc reactor with the new element, the one to fix the palladium poisoning issue. It’s been a few weeks since the mayhem at the Expo, and Happy finally gets a chance to talk to Tony about everything.

 

“So, new and improved arc reactor?” he asks, sitting across from Tony at some small little cafe Tony likes.

 

Tony looks down at the reactor, as if he needs to check to make sure it really did happen, and then he nods. “Yeah, created a new element. You know that old model of the area around the Stark Expo? Well, apparently it was all a way for my dad to hide the formula for a new element, and that element just so happens to be the one that can power the arc reactor safely. He just didn’t have the technology back then to create the element, so he left that information for me to use.”

 

It’s a lot to take in, but most of the last few years have been a lot to take in, so Happy just goes with it. “Wow, that’s pretty amazing. So you actually created an entirely new element? And this somehow isn’t in the news?”

 

“Well, I don’t know what all this element can do, exactly, beyond powering the arc reactor, so I’m not sure about telling people how it works just yet. And technically, I just followed my dad’s work, so it’s really his success, not mine.”

 

“Your dad might have thought about it, but you  _ did _ it. Give yourself the credit you deserve.”

 

Tony doesn’t say anything, but Happy hopes that the message sticks anyway.

 

* * *

 

With those three memories in mind, Happy can’t say he’s in any possible way thrilled by Howard’s sudden appearance in the lobby of Stark Industries. He doesn’t think it through, just decks Howard and sends him sprawling to the floor. People turn to see the commotion, and Happy just holds up a hand.

 

“Everything’s fine, folks, we’ve just got a bit of a rowdy one, I’ll get him out of here.” Happy picks Howard up and carries him out to the back alley behind the building.

 

“What are you doing here? How are you alive?” Happy asks, and Howard frowns.

 

“Time travel. And I should think I’m allowed to walk into my own building.”

 

“No, no you are not allowed into Stark Industries, you are not allowed into your old home, because that’s now a shelter for abused children, and you are not allowed anywhere near Tony. If you go near him, I will taze you and I will leave you in a dumpster to recover.”

 

Happy turns around and goes back inside. When Howard doesn’t show up again after two hours, Happy feels confident that he’s gone for good, and he doesn’t bother telling anyone else, especially Tony. No one needs to know.

**Author's Note:**

> you can talk to me or yell at me on tumblr on my main blog [ here ](http://tired-disabled-and-in-pain.tumblr.com) or on my anti-howard stark side blog [ here ](https://fuck-howard-stark.tumblr.com)
> 
> thanks for reading!!


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